Fire and Ice
by melodioustaco
Summary: Ichigo had to sacrifice his powers for a year to defeat Aizen. He's just gotten them back, and with them comes Shiro, his hollow side. What does this mean for the future, and how has Shiro felt being disconnected from Ichigo for so long? Can these two ever find peace with each other?
1. Prologue

_The eternally opposing legions_

_Doomed to be apart _

_Seperate in their own regions_

_Fighting at the very start_

_Fire and Ice_

_Moon and Sun_

_Power comes with a price_

_There is a war to be won_

_They brutalize eachother_

_Refusing to be together_

_Although practically brothers_

_They are alone forever_

_What happens when the Sun meets the Moon?_

_The Raven meets the Dove?_

_Surely, nothing but doom_

_There is no wasted love._

_Or is there?_

_Maybe when the Sun and Moon kiss_

_Stars appear_

_Love sparkling with a little hiss_

_Fire and Ice_

_Can they touch without being devoured?_

_Play nice?_

_For together, they hold such power._


	2. Green poofs and health troubles

Karakura Town - Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - 2:37am

"HOLLOW! HOLLOW! HOLLOW!" Ichigo Kurosaki groaned and grabbed his crowing combat pass, using it to push himself out of his body and go and chase the latest hollow. He'd just gotten his powers back last week, and was still getting used to it. He'd agreed to train with Urahara as soon as said man got back from vacation, but for now, he was just readjusting to getting woken up in the middle of the night again.

He set his feet on the ground right in front of the hollow, and got ready to aim for the mask. It seemed to be moving sluggishly and its mask had odd chips in it, he noted as his sword split it. When the hollow was cut in half, an odd green gas emerged. Coughing, Ichigo flash stepped away then stood for a few seconds. His vision didn't change, and nothing felt off, so shrugging, he began the trip back home.

_King? What...happened? _His hollow asked from his head. **There was a hollow. You sound weird. What's up? **Ichigo responded, not liking the idea of his hollow being up to something. _Just tired_ his hollow grumbled, and Ichigo felt him slip from the forefront of his mind. Satisfied, he opened his window and got back in his body, reminding himself to talk to Urahara about the weird green crap.

* * *

Five days later, Ichigo woke up late and although he rushed, he was about 10 minutes late for class. His teacher just rolled her eyes and waved to his seat, which he quickly took. It was calculus, and he was quickly bored. He was so exhausted. The hollows seemed to be coming a lot more than he remembered, and he was barely getting any sleep. The past week had been rough.

As he spaced out, paying less and less attention to the teacher, he also fell closer and closer to sleep. When his body finally gave in, he opened his eyes in his inner world. "What's up old man?" Ichigo asked, wondering why Zangetsu would pull him in in the middle of class. "I didn't call you in here" he said solemnly. "Then..." Ichigo turned to his hollow, eyes widening in shock at the sight of him lying there, sword nowhere to be seen, shirt discarded a couple of feet away from him. "K-king" his hollow coughed, and Ichigo walked over to him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Ichigo scowled "and why'd you call me in here?" "I-I'm sick" his hollow's eyes opened, revealing the blue that was threading in with the black. His eyes were bloodshot, in the hollow sense. "How is that even possible?" Ichigo asked grumpily, sitting Indian style next to him. "I've been feeling worse and worse since that hollow with the green stuff"

Ichigo watched as his hollow had a coughing fit, blood covering his arm. "Geez" Ichigo muttered, putting a hand on his forehead and frowning even more "You really are burning up" "His spiritual pressure has been decreasing as well" Zangetsu murmured from behind him. "Ic-Ichigo...please...I'm dying..." his hollow looked up at him "I need help...please, I'll do anything..." A look of pain crossed Ichigo's face, and he debated whether or not he should really help him.

The damn hollow was just waiting for an opportunity to knock him off his throne, and life would be much easier without him. At the same time, he didn't think he could just sit back and watch someone die, either. After a few moments Ichigo finally sighed and promised "the second Urahara is back in town I'll see him about it, and I'll talk to the vizards to see if they know anything" the hollow nodded his thanks and Ichigo sunk back to normal sleep until the teacher flicked a piece of chalk at him.

* * *

After school, he went to the vizards' place. Raising his spiritual energy to let them know it was him, he was granted access through the barrier. Inside, they were all waiting for him "What's up carrot top?" Hiyori asked rudely. "I was wondering if any of your hollows ever...got...uh...well, got sick." Ichigo said self-consciously. They all stared at him for a few minutes, and then all of them either shook their heads or said no.

"Damn" he mumbled "well, thanks anyway" he turned to go when Hiyori smacked him with her sandal "WHAT THE HELL?! YOU CAN'T JUST COME IN AND SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND LEAVE! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" Ichigo growled but turned

"I was in my inner world this morning and my hollow was lying there coughing up blood and barely able to move. He said he was dying, and asked me to get him help" there was a moment of absolute silence, then Shinji finally spoke up "and you're going to actually do it?" Ichigo looked uncomfortable "I just can't let someone die without at least trying to help." they all rolled their eyes at that, but decided to drop it.

I don't think any of them interact with their hollows like you do yours, Ichigo Zangetsu explained as said teenager walked home. He nodded silently, and continued on, adjusting his hold on his book bag.


	3. Karin's lesson

After supper that night, Ichigo was doing his homework when Zangetsu came to the front of his mind Ichigo he put down his pencil and leaned back in his chair, stretching his neck a little **what's up Zangetsu? **

It's him. He's getting worse. He keeps calling for you, but I don't think he can reach you anymore Ichigo sat up at this news in shock. His hollow had made a point of letting him know he could show up and talk any time he wanted, and for him to be sick enough to not have that power anymore... **Is he really dying?**

Zangetsu didn't reply, but Ichigo felt his confirmation of his suspicions. Closing his eyes and focusing, he made his hollow materialize on his bed. When his eyes opened, the albino was lying on his bed, curled into a ball and groaning. "You holding up alright there?" Ichigo asked, leaning over his hollow "K-king? What...Where am I?" Ichigo frowned.

He must be pretty disoriented to not recognize the room. "You're in my room. I materialized you." the hollow just nodded a little, his eyes closing a bit. Ichigo reached down and touched his forehead, wincing at how hot it was. "I'll be back in a minute" Ichigo murmured, and left to go get Tylenol and a cold facecloth. He stepped from the bathroom with the tub of cold water, cup of water and bottle of Tylenol to see Karin in the hallway outside his room.

He frowned a little "what are you doing?" "Ichigo, I...I think one of those monster things is in your room! I can feel it..." Ichigo snorted "man, I must suck at sensing shit if even you are better than me." he opened the door and Karin followed hesitantly after him. Ichigo set the tub on the desk and pulled his chair over next to the bed.

"Roll over, I got some stuff to help you" he ordered, and the hollow obeyed, hissing in pain as he did so. Ichigo helped him sit up. "Alright, you put these in your mouth and use this water to swallow them, okay?" the albino nodded and obediently took the pills. Laying him back down, Ichigo put a cool cloth on his forehead and a cool towel on his torso.

The hollow sighed, soothed, and his eyes shut as he fell asleep. 'he must really be out of it...' Ichigo thought absently as he screwed the top back on the pills. "I-Ichigo, what is that?" Karin's voice startled him out of his thoughts, and he turned to where she was looking at the hollow from behind the wall. "So you can see him then?" Ichigo asked curiously, and Karin scoffed

"I can see all the monster things, and ghosts, and you in your soul reaper form" she reminded him, and Ichigo gave her a half grin. "He's different. I materialized him. I had no idea if even other soul reapers would see him or not" Karin looked confused "materialized...?" she mumbled, and Ichigo sighed "let's talk in the hall and let him sleep" she nodded.

* * *

Out in the hall, they sat with their backs on opposite walls, facing each other. Ichigo proceeded to explain to her about Rukia and the night he got his powers, where hollows came from, the job of a soul reaper, and all the rankings in soul society. He kept going through his entire rescue of Rukia and his rescue of Orihime and his defeat of Aizen. He explained all about his hollow, where he'd come from, why he had to control it, and the fact that it was now sick.

He didn't baby Karin; she was old enough to hear about his battles now, although he didn't go into any gory details. Once he was finished, Karin, although overloaded with information, was still confused. "But if he's a hollow, why are you just letting him around in there?!"

Ichigo smiled sadly "He's dying, Karin. I'm trying to get him help, but if I can't, the least I can do is make his death comfortable" "but he's a hollow! What if he's tricking you?!" Karin argued, but Ichigo shook his head. "There's no way. He's completely stopped all the insults, and has been calling me Ichigo instead of his usual nicknames. Although that could be faked, there's no way he'd sacrifice enough pride to let me look after him. He...he _begged_ me to help him. He was begging me for his very life..."

Karin suddenly understood. Her brother was protecting him not because he was a fool, but because he'd already had all his own doubts and could not find a legitimate threat from his hollow. Add in his protective, kind nature, and it was no wonder that he was trying to help. "I understand" Karin said, and Ichigo smiled in thanks. Karin went downstairs, leaving Ichigo to tend to his hollow.


	4. A Shopkeeper Comes Home

Ichigo rubbed his head as he set down his pencil. He was finally finished the mountain of homework he had. He quietly put his things away and looked over at his hollow. **I want to give him a name. That's probably the weirdest thing any vizard thought about their hollow**, ever he sighed and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

The house was quiet. Things were settling down for the night, at ten o clock. **I wonder if urahara could've been back early or something? he really needs to be seen...** he sat there for a few minutes before sighing and giving in, grabbing his phone and dialing orihime's number. "hello?" "hey Orihime its Ichigo" he said quietly, looking out his window.

"hi!" "I was hoping you could tell me if Urahara and his gang were back in town. I need some help with my hollow, and you know how bad I am with spiritual pressure" "sorry Ichigo, I haven't been able to sense him. I'll call when he gets back, but in the mean time, why don't you go to the vizards?" "the vizards? already saw them. they thought I was insane" Ichigo groaned softly "hopefully Urahara will be a bit more understanding" he thought aloud

"umm...Ichigo...what is going on?" Orihime asked timidly "uhh...my hollow is...well, he's sick. And dying. And I, for some fucked up reason, am trying to help. He's getting alot worse, and..." Ichigo's voice dropped to a whisper "and I'm worried he really might not make it" "I...I'm so sorry Ichigo...is there anything I can do?" "thanks for offering but I doubt your power would be able to counteract whatever the hell is going on with him" Ichigo sighed "well, I'll talk to you later, alright?" "Sure. Talk to you later. Bye." "Bye."

Ichigo shut his phone and sat up to see his hollows eyes on him "Y-You really did that, king? Went to the vizards?" he coughed heavily then and Ichigo winced "you alright?" He couldn't respond, just kept coughing, and Ichigo swore and sat him up, letting his hollow lean on him as he coughed more and more. After a few minutes, the coughing finally stopped, but he was shaking. "Alright alright" Ichigo muttered, gently lying him down again "I'm gonna go get some cough syrup." His hollows eyes drifted shut, and Ichigo made sure he was breathing before running downstairs.

"Ichigo whats up?" Karin asked as her brother came tumbling down the stairs looking panicked "Karin. You were always better with this stuff, right? H-He's coughing up blood, and I dont know what the hell to do." She got off the couch and went into the clinic, Ichigo listing off his hollows symptoms and Karin grabbing bottles and other supplies, shoving it all in Ichigo's arms for him to carry.

Then they both went back into Ichigo's room. The sickly hollow was curled up in a ball, groaning again. His eyes half opened as they walked over, Ichigo then forcing him onto his back, causing his hollow to cry out in pain. "Sorry" Ichigo winced, and Karin mumbled "I don't feel him nearly as much as I did before, Ichi." "Crap" he whispered, before the hollow twitched on the bed, clutching his head. "Alright lets see what we can do for you" Karin proceeded to get him more cold cloths, and made him take a couple different medicines to reduce the pain and coughing. She fed him some chicken soup and instructed her brother sternly to make sure he got lots of fluids. After about 20 minutes, the meds kicked in, and Ichigo's hollow said "Thank you, king."

Ichigo sighed in relief **'finally, the nick names are back.'** "You're welcome" he replied, watching him for a few minutes "I...I was thinking, while you were sleeping." Sharp yellow eyes met soft brown ones. "Do you really not have a name?" the hollow nodded. "I'm just nameless. That's all." Ichigo felt a pain run through him at the thought of it, for some reason. "What does Zangetsu call you?" he wondered and there was a snort. "Hollow" Ichigo visible flinched at that, and the hollow looked at him curiously. "I...I want to give you a name, if you want one" Ichigo said nervously.

There was a long silence as the albino stared at Ichigo, then he finally said "Sure." The fact that there was no teasing or scathing comment with that made Ichigo realize that the hollow had long wanted one, and his heart pained more. "Well...we could name you something really obvious that matches your personality, like death or murderous intent or something like that." The hollow made a face "I emanate that all on my own, I don't need a name to do it for me." "True" Ichigo mused, entertaining his ego.

"What about a play on my name? You do look a lot like me, just different colouring." "Meh" the hollow made a noise of disinterest. "Why don't we brainstorm on that?" Ichigo suggested "My name means the one who protects, and black is the first half of my last name." "I could be the one who destroys" the hollow said solemnly, and Ichigo quickly shook his head. "You protected me, not to mention Orihime" the white haired teen's eyes widened in surprise at that. "Oh..." After a minute of thought, he suggested "Your name also means strawberry, so I could be blueberry" he snickered as Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Glad you're feeling well enough to crack jokes at my expense again." They fell silent before Ichigo said "Shirosaki" the hollow looked up "white, instead of black, like our swords." "That's good, king" he murmured, accepting his new name. Ichigo's eyes widened "its...perfect" he said, laughing a little. "So your new name is Shirosaki" the hollow smiled, just a little, and Ichigo's phone rang "Yo."

"Hi Ichigo, Uraharas back" "Really? Great. Alright, thanks. Bye." He quickly hung up and looked at Shiro "Uraharas finally back. Can you walk?" "Can barely move" he muttered angrily. "I'll carry you then" Ichigo used his combat pass to turn into a soul reaper and pick up Shiro carrying him to Urahara's. Landing on the ground outside the store, he set Shiro on his feet and put one of his arms over his own shoulder to support his weight. "Oi! Urahara! I know you're home, open up!" They reached the front door and Ichigo slid it open, then shut it behind them.

Urahara came out from the back "Ichigo, what are you doing here with him?" Urahara asked dangerously, obviously aware of who was leaning on the orangette. "He's sick and I don't know how it happened or what to do" Ichigo explained, then begged "please Urahara I know its strange but I cant just let him die." "Come with me" Urahara led them to a room, and Ichigo helped Shiro lie down in the bed. "Now, how did this happen?" Urahara asked as he stuck a thermometer like object in the albino's mouth.

"I think it was about 6 days ago. I was called out for a hollow. Its mask was chipped up and it was moving sluggishly. When I killed it, there was this green cloud of gas released, and ever since then he'd been off, right?" The hollow nodded and Urahara finally spoke "Luckily I know exactly what this is, one of Aizen's experiments gone wrong. A good few years back, I came across a hollow like the one you described. I captured it and studied it, and developed an antidote for the sickness aizen deveoped, accidently, I assume. Bad news is it'll be a couple hours before the antidote is ready, since I don't have any premade."

"That'll be okay" Ichigo assured him, and sat next to Shiro. "We'll just wait here."


End file.
